Position your admin scope and the team you support
Open with a short summary that states who you support—a department such as operations, finance, HR, an academic unit, a clinic front office or a sales team—and whether the work is on-site, hybrid or remote. Mention office size, reception or visitor coverage, records or invoicing, and bilingual or after-hours coverage when accurate.
Mirror posting language only when it matches work you have done. Claiming board materials, investor travel, multi-executive pods or confidential C-suite partnership without examples belongs on an executive assistant CV, not here, and invites questions you may not want to answer. Point readers to the calendars, shared inboxes, documents and office systems that prove the skills the job emphasizes.
Write bullets that show systems, not only task lists
Strong administrative assistant bullets name the workflow, your ownership and the result. Include meeting scheduling for a group, shared-mailbox triage, travel bookings, document version control, invoice or expense routing, supply inventory, onboarding checklists, or conference-room and visitor coordination when they clarify impact. Prefer measured outcomes—turnaround time, error rate, coverage reliability or cost avoided—over vague claims that you are “highly organized” or a “team player.”
The fictional examples below illustrate wording only. They are not Make.CV performance claims and should not be copied as your own. Replace every figure with results you can support from calendar data, ticket or invoice logs, or approved operations reports. Never put confidential personnel details, unpublished business figures or private contact information on a public CV.
Show tools and office systems without a software dump
Group skills into readable categories such as calendar and inbox, documents and records, travel and expenses, office operations, and communication. Prioritize tools named in the posting when you have genuine experience. A short accurate list of Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Excel), Google Workspace, Zoom or a named records or expense system beats a long inventory of apps you rarely use.
Tie important tools back to experience bullets. Saying you manage a shared inbox is more convincing when a bullet explains triage rules, response times and what changed for the team. Highlight reliability, clear written communication and follow-through on recurring office processes. If the posting is truly an executive assistant role supporting a C-suite principal, use the executive assistant CV guide instead of stretching this one.
Choose a clean layout and review the export
Use a readable template with standard headings so scope, tools and operational outcomes stay easy to find. Keep dates consistent and leave room for quantified bullets. Browse Make.CV templates if you want to compare layouts before writing.
Build your CV in the free maker with live preview, then download a PDF with no watermark. Check that team names, tool names and project labels wrap cleanly. Confirm the exported text remains selectable before you submit.
Frequently asked questions
How is an administrative assistant CV different from an executive assistant CV?
An administrative assistant CV emphasizes calendar, inbox, documents and office or departmental operations for a team. An executive assistant CV emphasizes partnership with a C-suite or senior executive, confidential coordination and stakeholder work at a higher altitude. Use the guide that matches the posting; do not collapse the two roles.
Should I list every office task I have done?
No. Group routine duties and lead with the workflows you owned and improved. Mention reception, filing or supplies when they are part of the job, but do not let a long task list crowd out measurable results.
Do reception, internship or departmental coordinator roles belong?
Yes when you reframe them around scheduling, communication, records or office operations the posting asks for. Keep titles accurate and shrink older or less relevant entries so current admin scope stays easy to find.
How do I show impact when much of the work is routine?
Quantify systems you improved—meeting confirmation time, inbox response, expense cycle time, supply rush orders or onboarding checklist completion—or describe a process you documented and what changed for the team.